Dec 02,2024
Ryggs Johnston won on only his second DP World Tour start as he captured the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in impressive fashion.
The 24-year-old American, who is named after Mel Gibson's character from the Lethal Weapon movies, carded a closing 68 at Kingston Heath near Melbourne to finish on 18 under par, three shots clear of home favourite Curtis Luck.
Victory completed a remarkable rise for Montana native Johnston, who came through Qualifying School last month and finished tied 42nd on his tour debut a week ago.
Asked whether he thought a win was on the cards this week, Johnston – who started the week ranked 953rd in the world – said: "To be honest probably not.
"I turned up pretty tired from all the travel and Q-School and everything. Didn’t get a practice round here with the weather. I didn’t really have any expectations, which probably helped me in the end.
"It feels great, just knowing that (it brings) more playing opportunities and getting into bigger events. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet but it’s an amazing feeling."
Johnston began the day in a share of the lead with Lucas Herbert but quickly took control of proceedings with an eagle from the fringe at the opening hole.
Despite three bogeys on the front nine seeing him caught by Herbert and Luck at the turn, a superb approach to six feet at the 10th and a 30-foot birdie on the 15th saw Johnston close out the win.
Johnston, Luck and Marc Leishman took the three Open Championship berths on offer for next year’s event at Royal Portrush.
Ireland's Gary Hurley missed the cut on Friday.
Shin Jiyai hoisted the women's trophy for the second time, holding off defending champion Ashleigh Buhai by just two shots, having been seven clear.
However, the future of the dual gender event remains up in the air.
The mixed format, introduced in 2022 to reboot the local tour after it was shut down by Covid-19, has long had its detractors who say it diminishes the standing of both the men's and women's national opens, which were previously standalone events.
The criticism continued this week, with men's headliner Cameron Smith accusing officials of watering down the usually hard and fast sand-belt course, despite rainy weather that contributed to soft and slow conditions.
Australian major winner Hannah Green said the course setup had "generous" pin placements to make sure all players could get their rounds.
"I do think if the men played at this course, the pins would be much more tucked," Green told reporters.
Australia's first Masters winner Adam Scott, long one of the nation's biggest supporters of the local tour, elected to skip the tournament this year, and pundits fear other top players like Smith may do the same in future.
Australian golf officials are undecided about the scheduling in 2025 or the format but are not convinced separating the men's and women's events is the right way forward.
"It's no secret that some of our leading men's players don't like the format, but they like the date," Golf Australia boss James Sutherland told reporters on Sunday.
"And on the flip-side, some of our leading female players don’t like the date, but like the format.
"And so the simple answer to that is to separate the two events at different times... but it’s not quite that easy."
The scheduling, straight after the season-ending LPGA event in Florida wrapped up on the previous Sunday, was a major issue for a number of the women's entrants, including major winners Minjee Lee and Green, who arrived jetlagged. No Irish female players made the trip.
Bad weather on Wednesday meant many of the players were unable to get a practice round in before the event started.
With the women's Australian Open having lost its place on the LPGA calendar during COVID, there is no guarantee the tournament will return to the global circuit in coming years.
WPGA boss Karen Lunn said the mixed format was good for the women's game, exposing the talent to fans who might not see them otherwise.
"James (Sutherland) mentioned that the date is tricky for the girls. But they love the format," she said.
"There's a lot of fans here that, three years ago, would only have gone to a men's tournament. But now they're probably fans of the women's game as well."
